Journal of the San Juan Islands

Hopeful that more money can make a difference | Letters

2013 brought on the increase of sales tax to our county. This is the public safety tax increase.

I will be very interested to see if this makes any difference in the amount of premature deaths that happen in our town as a result of drug and alcohol abuse.

In the 38 years that I have lived here, I have watched year after year an increase in drug and alcohol abuse by our teens and young adults, ruining lives and destroying families.

This just breaks my heart. I know that law enforcement has a difficult time arresting dealers, but it is so frustrating to observe obvious drug activity and wonder how come if I can see it why can’t the police do anything about it?

I don’t really want to criticize the police as I don’t know much about the department, but with this added revenue, let’s spend it on learning how to be effective in getting the dealers off the island.